Chapter 1312. Setting Off (2)

“...”

Seong Ju-Chan dazedly took in the situation within his cafe.

Usually, the best this place could do was half-full, but not today. There weren’t any empty chairs left. As a matter of fact, people who couldn’t find a seat were occupying every empty-enough space between tables. Some of them were even squatting on the floor as if standing around was too annoying for them!

“Hey! Where’s our coffee?”

“Isn’t it common sense to bring out refreshments when guests show up?! Why are you so lazy?”

“This is why you have no customers, Ju-Chan!”

Why, you stinking sons of b*tches!

Veins bulged on Seong Ju-Chan’s forehead as he yelled unhappily at the crowd. “How can I give you coffee when you haven’t bloody ordered anything yet!”

“Orders, my ass! Isn’t it common courtesy to give us something to drink when your friends and comrades show up at your place?! Since when did the East’s most courteous country become so hostile and uncaring?!”

“I want Caramel Macchiato! But leave out the whipped cream, okay!”

“And bring me Iced Americano! But make it warm!”

What was that lunatic even asking for here?! How could something with ice be “warm”?!

“Hurry up, will ya! I don’t see you moving, Ju-Chan!”

“Look at how lazy he’s become!”

“Love your comrades, love your country! Don’t you know that?”

Seong Ju-Chan grinned contentedly while listening to these idiots shouting at him.

It’d be so wonderful if you all dropped dead riiiight about now.

Where was that extinction-level meteor when you needed one?

Someone innocently asked, “By the way, why are we supposed to gather here?”

...And Seong Ju-Chan facepalmed in despair.

That’s what I would like to know!

Chatting to his comrades after such a long time should have improved his mood greatly. If only the meeting place hadn’t been his cafe, of course!

The crowd continued to chat amongst themselves.

“Dunno, but the Assembly Master told us to show up here, so we should listen, right?”

“Why? We are not affiliated with the Assembly anymore, right? So why should we obey the Assembly Master’s orders?”

“You can leave if you want.”

“What? You think I’m crazy?!”

“...What the f*ck is wrong with you, man?”

The overall atmosphere inside wasn’t so bad. Actually, it couldn’t be bad when Seong Ju-Chan thought about it.

Even when the former mandatory military service draftees, who had to survive the Hellish days filled with absurd levels of impropriety in the army, gathered around for a catch-up, the atmosphere would become friendly, after all. But these former martial artists had to endure training regimes boasting higher degrees of absurdity than in the military. No wonder their bonds were thick, nay, near unbreakable!

Even though some of these people weren’t exactly the best of friends back when they were still in the Assembly, here they were, busy chuckling and chatting away like old friends.

Of course, there would always be that one idiot who...

“So? How is it, man? How is life treating you these days?”

“...”

“...”

One carelessly thrown question later, and the atmosphere in the cafe instantly plummeted into the territory of depression.

Dammit, at least try to make some noise, you bastards!

Seong Ju-Chan screamed inwardly as he felt his innards writhe in agony.

What were they trying to achieve, acting like they were in a somber funeral after taking over someone’s place of business?! Of course, it wasn’t as if Seong Ju-Chan could continue with his business when his cafe was so full of depressed-looking

bodies

, but he still felt his stomach churn at the sight of potential customers checking out the cafe’s interior from the outside before sneakily running away!

“Well, I’d love to say I’m doing fine, but...”

“But it ain’t easy, right?”

Deep sighs of lamentation and hopelessness came from practically every corner of the cafe.

“What the hell, man! Why are you sighing like that in someone’s shop?! You trying to jinx my business or something!”

Seong Ju-Chan yelled unhappily, only for every person in the cafe to snap their heads in his direction and glare.

“Wait a minute. That f*cker owns this nice cafe, doesn’t he?”

“Yeah, you’re right! Look at him wearing that apron and sh*t! Even though he’s got the face of a bloody mountain bandit!”

“Wooow, so adorable, isn’t he? So adorable that I wanna f*cking rip his head off!”

“I don’t care if he owns this cafe or what, if I could just punch that hateful face once...!”

Seong Ju-Chan hurriedly lowered his head. He might not be the world’s bravest, gutsiest man, but even someone with balls of brass would still become well-behaved after receiving the barrage of all those murderous glares!

“Can’t that bastard read the room or something?”

“Maybe he’ll wake up if we grind his kneecaps instead of coffee beans.”

“...”

Seong Ju-Chan silently returned to brewing coffee. His painful prior experiences taught him that the best way to pacify vicious predators was feeding them nice snacks.

The crowd resumed the chatter.

“Geez... Maybe I should’ve tried to get a barista license back then.”

“You think customers would’ve paid money to drink your coffee?”

“Why wouldn’t they? I’m pretty dexterous with my hands, you know?”

“Really? That’s too bad, though. If only all that talent didn’t go to your hands but to your face! Then, customers

might

have been more willing to tolerate you.”

“...Come outside, you bastard!”

“Don’t even bother. I don’t have the energy to fight anyone.”

“...Yeah, me too.”

Another round of helpless sighs ensued.

Seong Ju-Chan frowned weirdly while asking the nearest former colleague. “Hey, man. Has it been that tough for you guys?”

“Of course you wouldn’t know, Mister Cafe Owner.”

“You stinking Capitalist pig.”

“What the hell are you even saying, you idiots?!” Seong Ju-Chan yelled, his face flushed red. “Did I get paid double the wages than you guys or something?! Didn’t we get paid the same amount while leaving the Assembly?! So why are you spewing this nonsense?!”

Eyes of forlorn emptiness and despair landed on Seong Ju-Chan next.

“What’s the point of having money? When we don’t know how to use it properly?”

“No one wants to hire us even though we’re willing... Hey, at least that construction site was happy to see me. Saying I’m speedy and tough and sh*t.”

Seong Ju-Chan urgently looked at the former Assembly member who said that. “T-then, you have a job! Why all the complaints?”

“That construction company went bankrupt recently. Something about the economy in the doldrums and whatever.”

“...”

A depressed silence descended on the cafe.

Seong Ju-Chan cautiously asked, “Then... What are you guys doing these days?”

“Me? I’m just lounging at home.”

“I’m spending time at the arcades.”

“I go to various day labor marketplaces, but it’s not been working out for me so far. At least I made a few friends with Ethnic Koreans from China, so...”

Seong Ju-Chan shuddered grandly. What a stroke of fortune it was for him to get that barista license earlier. Without that, and without this cafe he inherited from his senior, he also would’ve ended up in the same state as these idiots!

Seriously?! These idiots are totally beyond help!

Seong Ju-Chan wanted to say something, but what should he say? When he knew these people didn’t end up this because this was what they wanted?

The truth about the Assembly’s welfare for its members was that it’d put most large corporations to shame. Sure, things used to be rather sloppy and ill-planned in the past, but Kang Jin-Ho ensured that the organization looked after its members better than most places. And the members were aware of all the continuous improvements, so who in their right mind would willingly walk away from all that?

...Unless one was a drop-out, of course. That term best described the folks camping inside this cafe.

“Geez, dude. At least you should’ve tried to get a job in a company or something.”

“How? When I have nothing to write on my resume?”

“Didn’t you graduate high school, at least?”

“

Oii

... Have you seen your own high school student records yet?”

“No...? Why do you ask?”

“Do yourself a favor and take a gander. You’ll see how horrifying it is. I freaked out when I saw mine.”

“What? Was something weird written on it?”

“Well, not exactly, but... My homeroom teacher did his best to make it sound nice, but even then, all I could think about was how this was all I amounted to back then. Geez, the guilty conscience still stings like crazy.”

“...”

Others silently nodded in agreement.

All these people thought they would stay in the Assembly as martial artists for the rest of their lives from a young age. Never once did they think they would abruptly become members of Korean society one day. Rather unsurprisingly, such people wouldn’t have made preparations for their future.

“You know what I realized after leaving the Assembly?”

“No? What is it?”

“I used to think I was a halfway useless son of a b*tch back in the Assembly.”

“Okay?”

“Now that I’m on the surface world, though? Forget halfway, now I know I’m just a useless son of a b*tch.”

“...”

“Might as well live as a sea slug in my next life or something...”

Why was the mood inside the cafe so depressing? Seong Ju-Chan frowned deeply.

But he couldn’t do anything about it, since everyone else in the cafe was wallowing in their depression. His innards grumbled uncomfortably at the sight of so many people acting like depressed teenagers.

Seong Ju-Chan tried to say something. “B-but... Didn’t you have plans of your own while growing up? Or dreams?”

“Shut up, you moron! If things have worked out as I’ve planned as a kid, I should be the President of this bloody country by now!”

“

Uh

... Sure. I guess so...?”

“That’s life, isn’t it?! Making plans and whatnot is all good and well, but

nothing

will ever work out as you want! That’s f*cking life, man!”

They were right, but it seemed life especially didn’t work out for them, judging from this pitiful sight!

“I’ll be honest, I keep thinking about going back to the Assembly lately. Dude, I’m telling you, those days were the best.”

“Yeah, me too! I used to think I could do anything as long as harsh training didn’t grind me down. But now I know those days of training were the best years of my life. At least we didn’t have anything to worry about besides training, right?”

“Right, right. We got paid on time, and there were all the periodic bonuses, too. Better still, we had roofs over our heads, too.”

“Yeah! And the salaries we got were pretty good, too!”

“

Haaah

~... Bastards still in the Assembly have no idea how good their life is.”

Seong Ju-Chan chuckled slightly. “But we don’t have to fight in wars, though. Isn’t that a plus?”

“What the f*ck, you moron! Life itself is war! Society is hell in itself, you dumbass! Just because you ain’t bleeding from a stab wound, you think it’s all better? Trying to put food on the table is the real warfare!”

Seong Ju-Chan couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

He also had to deal with so many entitled customers while operating this cafe. The life of trying to serve them, and worrying about making ends meet every month... Could he say this life was less burdensome than the one he used to live as a member of the Martial Assembly? No, he couldn’t.

At least he was slightly better off with a cafe and all. How much worse would it be for everyone else here?

“Stop being so insensitive and get us our coffee already. Why aren’t you moving, man?”

Seong Ju-Chan tutted. “Pay first, dude.”

“

Hah

, this bastard...! How could you be so cold-hearted, man!”

“You think I’m running a charity here?! I gotta pay the bills, too! H-hey, put that down! That cookie is for sale! I said, put that... What the f*ck, you dipsh*t?! Don’t touch that cake! You can’t! No!”

...And then, an unbridled chaos ensued. However!

Ring~!

In that decisive moment, the cafe’s door was shoved open, and two people strode inside.

“...!”

“...!”

In the blink of an eye, utter silence filled the cafe.

The person who had entered first, Lee Hyeon-Su, scanned the crowd as his cheeks twitched ominously. And then, his lips slowly parted.

“Really...?”

“...”

“What the f*ck is the matter with you all?”

“...”

***

A table was cleared out of previous occupants in the blink of an eye.

Kang Jin-Ho and Lee Hyeon-Su took over this table near the front of the cafe. Seong Ju-Chan immediately served them with warm coffee, some cookies, and even slices of cake, but no one here complained.

Of course, no one here was bold enough to voice their dissatisfaction after noticing the veins bulging on Lee Hyeon-Su’s forehead.

“Really? Did you forget your place after leaving the Assembly?”

“...”

“You knew the Assembly Master was coming, yet you dare create a ruckus? Are you a bunch of elementary school kids waiting for their homeroom teacher?!”

The silence deepened. Everyone kept their head down and clamped their mouth shut.

Lee Hyeon-Su shot a sharp glare at one of the former Martial Assembly members. “

Oii

! Choi Sang-Gil!”

“Yes, sir!”

“You dipsh*t! Aren’t you the oldest person here? You should’ve tried to keep everyone in line, at the very least! It’s the same for you, Seong Ju-Chan!”

“...My apologies, sir.”

“You think your obligations are over once you leave the Assembly?

Huh

? Why don’t you call me

hyung-nim

instead, then?!”

“By the way, Chief Lee?”

“What?!”

Choi Sang-Gil cautiously spoke with a cramped face. “I’m actually older than you...?”

“...” Lee Hyeon-Su slowly got up. “You. Come outside. Now.”

“N-no, wait, sir! I didn’t mean it that way! I’m,

uh

, just telling you the truth, sir.”

“Do you know why honest people have always died young since time immemorial?”

“N-no, sir?”

“It’s because they are too damn honest! Let me show you why being honest is bad for your health, so come outside, now!”

“P-please calm down, sir.”

Lee Hyeon-Su double-facepalmed. If it was up to him, he’d have kicked every single ass in this place by now. To think he must do business with these people!

“All of you, sit your asses down. Keep your mouths zipped before I pour the boiling Americano down your throat. Got that?”

The atmosphere was

fixed

in an instant with that simple threat.

Lee Hyeon-Su loudly groaned. “This is why you all can’t be trusted like human beings! You morons! Try to act like human beings, at the very least! It doesn’t matter whether it’s the Assembly or the surface world, you gotta act like a human being first before you are treated as a bloody human being!”

With that, the Lee Hyeon-Su-special nagging train had set off.

“It’s not some random person summoning you here, but the Assembly Master! Even an idiot would’ve known he’d come here sooner rather than later! Yet you all cause such a ruckus?! Are you that clueless?! Humans should have wits! Wits, I say! Why do you...”

“That’s enough, Chief Lee.”

“What’s enough, you piece of sh... A-Assembly Master?”

Lee Hyeon-Su freaked out and turned his head to stare at his boss. He got too agitated and failed to recognize Kang Jin-Ho’s voice in time.

“...”

“...”

“A-Assembly Master, it’s not what you think, sir. It was merely a slip of...”

“You. Come with me for a second. Outside.”

“Sorry?”

Kang Jin-Ho didn’t say anything else and strode outside the cafe.

“...!”

Lee Hyeon-Su’s despair-filled eyes hurriedly scanned the cafe’s interior, but no one wanted to meet his desperate gaze.

“You... You all keep your mouths shut, okay!”

After shouting that, Lee Hyeon-Su trudged outside the cafe like a cow being dragged into an abattoir.

Clink~!

Once the cafe’s door closed behind Lee Hyeon-Su, everyone sighed deeply in relief.

“What was that? How come nothing’s changed with those two?”

Someone bravely spoke up to voice what was on everyone’s mind at that moment.